The majority of MPs voted for a High Speed Rail link between London and the West Midlands.

MPs were considering the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill[1] and the motion approved in this vote was:

That the Bill be now read a Second time.

The approval of the motion signified support for the general principles of the Bill and enabled it to continue on its path to becoming law.

A parliamentary briefing paper prior to the second reading debate[2] explained the effect of the Bill:

The Bill confers the powers required to construct Phase One of the proposed HS2 scheme from London Euston to Birmingham Curzon Street and Handsacre with intermediate stations in West London (Old Oak Common) and at Birmingham Airport. It does not provide for a direct connection to Heathrow Airport. While provision for a rail link to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) remains in the Bill the Government intends for it to be removed during the Bill’s progress through Parliament.

This is a Hybrid Bill, which means it has elements of both a public and a private Bill: it gives both Parliamentary approval and planning permission for the scheme. Those directly and specially affected by the construction of the route will be able to petition a specially-convened select committee on the Bill.

About the Project

The Public Whip is a not-for-profit, open source website created in 2003 by Francis Irving and Julian
Todd and now run by Bairwell Ltd.

There are lots of plans afoot, including extensive redevelopment of the site and plans for new
functionality. To keep up with what's happening, please check out the blog. We're working on updating all the contact
details throughout the site, but if you'd like to talk to us about the project, please email
[email protected]